Footboard for locomotives.



No 797,450. PATENTED AUG; 16, 1905. 8. MIKE.

POOTBOARD FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

APPLICATION FILED MAE.9,1905.

W ul M 13 7 m mzebflwe, Inventor,

Attorneysp SAMUEL MIZE, OF ANNA, TLLTNOIS.

ttpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1905.

A li ti fil d March 9, 1905. Serial No. 249,319.

To all whom, it party concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL Mimi, a citizen of the United States, residing at Anna, in the county of Union and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Footboard for Locomotives, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to footboards for 10- comotives.

As is well known, so-callcd yard or switch engines are devoid of pilots or cowcatchers, as these are unnecessary, and to the pilot-beam of the engine and to the sill at the rear end of the tank or tender there is secured what is called a foot or step board, upon which brakemen or switchmen can step while the engine is in motion. As generally con strueted these footboards are composed of a single piece of lumber extending the width of the engine-front, and owing to the fact that there is no provision to obviate damage when the engine couples to another having a pilot it frequently happens that they are broken by contact with the pilot or their hangers are bent, thereby requiring repairs which are expensive and which interfere with the work of the road.

The object of the present invention is in a ready, simple, thoroughly feasible, practical, and inexpensive manner and without necessitating any change in the structural arrangement of any of the parts of the engine to construct the foot or step board in such manner as that if the engine that carries it be coupled to another having a pilot no danger of damage to the footboard will ensue.

With these and other objects in view, as will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction and combination of parts of a footboard for locomotives, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts, there is illustrated one form of embodiment of the invention capable of carrying the same into practical operation, it being understood that the elements therein exhibited may be varied or changed as to shape, proportion, and exact manner of assemblage without departing from'the spirit thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the front portion of a locomotive, exhibiting the device of the present invention combined therewith. Fig. 2 is a perspective detail view of the footboard viewed from the rear. I

lteterring to the drawings, P designates the pilot-beam, such as is common to yard or switch engines and which is supported from thelocomotive in any preferred manner. cured to the beam are two pairs of hangers 1 and 2, the pair 1 being secured to the front of the beam and depend vertically therefrom and have their lower ends bent at right angles to their length to presentfootboard-supports 3 and the pair 2 being secured to the rear side of the beam and being bent at an angle to the pair 1. These hangers are of the common and well-known construction and form no essential part of the present invention. Secured to the hangers by bolts 4 is a toe-board 5, provided intermediateof its ends with a recess or arch 6, through which the nose of the pilot or cow-catchcr is adapted to project when the engine carrying the present improvements is coupled to such locomotive.

The :footboard consists of two sections 7 and 8, the opposed inner walls of the terminals of which diverge outward approximately on lines corresponding to the angular disposition of the sides of a pilot. and secured to the footboard-sections adjacent to the angular edges are foot-guards 9, which prevent the feet of a brakeman or switchman from being mangled or injured through being caught by the pilot. The sections of the footboard are held in position by the supports 3, with which they are combined by bolts 10 and by two pairs of angle-irons 11, which are secured to the toeboard by bolts 12 and to the two sections of the footboard by bolts 13, those portions of the angle-irons which extend beneath the footboard-sections being deflected at an angle to those portions secured to the toe-board to cause them to lie parallel with the opposed angular edges of the footboard-sections.

.It will be seen from the foregoing description that by the arrmigement shown all danger oi. damage to the footboard by reason of con tact with the pilot of a locomotive is positively obviated and, further, that by provision of foot-guards all danger of injury to an attendant will be positively prevented.

Having thus described the invention, whatis claimed is 1. A structure of the class described embodying a toe-board, and a two-part footboard, the members of which are disposed in the same plane.

2. A structure of the class described embodying a two-part footboard, and a toe-board having an intermediate arch to straddle the nose of a pilot.

3. A structure of the class described embodyinga toe-board, a two-part footboard, the members of which are disposed in the same plane, and foot guards combined with the footlooard.

4:. A structure of the class described embodying a toe-board, a two-part footboard, the members of which are disposed in the same plane, and foot-guards combined with the opposed ends of the members of the footboard. 5. A structure of the class described comprising a toe-board provided intermediate of its ends with an arch or recess, a footboard disposed on each side of the arch, and angleirons secured to the toe-board and to the footboard.

6. A structure of the class described comprising a toe-board provided intermediate of its ends with a recess or arch, and a footboard secured on each side of the arch, the opposed inner ends of the boards being disposed on outwarddiverging angles relatively to the toe-board.

7. A structure of the class described comprising a toe-board provided intermediate of its ends with a recess or arch, a footboard secured on each side of the arch, the opposed inner ends of the boards being disposed on outwarddiverging angles relatively to the toe-board, and foot-guards secured to the footboards parallel with the said ends.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL MIZE. WVitnessesr WILLIAM H. TREECE, JAMES C. MoCnAN. 

